File this under found on road alive.  A Redondo Beach man bought the car new in 1964 and had it for 20 years before he sold it. His sons went upon the quest to find the car and return it to him. The quest led across the country where they finally found the car on a lot in Canada. They bought it and returned it to him as a gift.

In the land that rust forgot what old car from your past would you like to have back?  For me its a mixed bag but the one I regret selling the most that I’d love to have back is my old ’72 Centurion which took us on many a road trip to the beach and shows all over the L.A. area.

Bonus points if you look weaker than a small child.

A lot of people in LA are looking for jobs, and today Jezebel picked up on an opportunity right here in our own back yard for any anorexics seeking gainful employment. Well, not “intentional” anorexics, according to the ad. But you know, if you just happened to stumble into your eating disorder by chance, then maybe this gig’s for you.

Probably the most helpful aspect of the ad, in my humble opinion, is handy height/weight chart, lest you be confused about what it takes to be considered adequately “fragile.” From the ad:

for a height of 5’7″ – 90-100lb, 5’8″- 110lb, 5’9″ – 115lb and 5’10″ – 120lb

It’s like one of those charts hanging by the scale in the doctor’s office. Science!

More information on the art and artists can be found on Fine Art Trekkin’ Torrance and Fine Art Trekkin’ South Bay.

Deets: 9/3 & 9/4/11Saturday and Sunday Sept 3, 4 noon-6pm. South Bay Lexus.24777 Crenshaw Blvd. Torrance, California 90505

They are sold out of Torrance with lists updated daily.  They even start as low as $2,500, arrest history not included.  For all your retired cruiser shopping needs its as easy as a quick phone call to 310-538-0469 for daily updated listings.

I’d probably skip the old Taurus sedans and go straight for the Crown Vic…been in a few over the years and can tell you they ride and handle much differently than the straight up civilian version.  Just remember caveat emptor as these cars though well maintained have had a lot of hard miles put on them.

Pics courtesy CHP Southern via twitter and used with their permission.

Isn't it pretty?

This was the view earlier in Long Beach.  And I’m sure it’s looks similar elsewhere.

“Not everyone has the luxury of having weekends off, DAVE!”
*slide glasses back up nose on angry face*

Trust me.   I know.  I work most weekends and holidays.  But I also know you can walk outside and enjoy the weather, if only for a few minutes.

So uh……..go!

And if you have the time, come down to Long Beach.  It’s beautiful.  And we have a great bike path.

The Lone Sailor at the end of my street, keeping watch over the harbor.

For the rest of you, my name is Dave.  I have been a huge fan of LA Metblogs Blogging.la since not long after it was started.  I remember reading it thinking “Man, I’d love to write for them.”  But alas, I lived in Orange County.  Then I discovered OC Metblogs, which I know you all read daily, right?  Right??

Cruise ships, cranes, Spruce Goose hangar and Queen Mary. Pretty much sums it up.

Recently I finished my schooling to be a Registered Nurse and landed a job at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance.  Immediately the wife and I saw this as our opportunity to move to LA.  Back for me, first time for her.  We’ve both always wanted to live in Long Beach and we found an amazing place.  So here I am!  There’s just one thing.  While I can get all around the Westside, Downtown, the Eastside, the Valley, San Gabriel Valley, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita and Orange County like nobody’s business, I know NOTHING of the South Bay.  And from what I can gather, most of LA doesn’t either.  In fact, when I was with OC Metblogs, I was given permission to post about the Long Beach Grand Prix (which I will cover in full this year) because many people consider Long Beach to be practically Orange County anyway.  Which, I can tell you after having been here 2 months, couldn’t be further from the truth!

Wyland bringing some OC flavor up north.

So, if it’s OK with you, I’d like to take y’all along for the ride as I explore this amazing community South of the 405 and West of the 605.

Oh, and I’ve included a little tasting menu of what’s to come via my camera.

Thanks!  :-Dave

A unique skyline for a unique city.

With South Bay cuisine and 360° views of Los Angeles, this event is where white attire-wearing guests will be able to sample appetizers and foods from various renowned LA eateries and imbibe wines, beers and spirits all provided by local businesses. With an exclusive performance by Rocco DeLuca, the event will be hosted on the evening of Saturday, July 10, 2010 at the South Bay BMW lot and rooftop in Torrance. That’s right – the concert and event are being held on the roof!

General tickets cost $100 per person and VIP tickets, allowing access to the silent and live auction (offering one‐of‐a‐kind products and experiences including tickets to sporting events and lavish vacation packages), cost $150 per person and can be purchased online.

Walk With Sally is dedicated to providing mentoring support programs and services to children of parents or siblings with cancer through free of charge mentoring support programs and services that provide an emotionally safe environment for children to share their difficult experience with someone who has suffered the same.

Walk With Sally is also generously giving a pair of tickets to a lucky Blogging.LA reader! Just leave a comment on why you’d like to attend this event– you could tell us your favorite Rocco songs, list the eateries you’re most excited to try, or even share a personal story of cancer in the family. A winner will be selected by 3pm on Friday, July 9 and will be added to the guest list.

It tastes a lot better than it looks.

Here’s how you can tell I’m not originally from California: I don’t like avocado on my burgers.

Really. I enjoy avocado in general. It’s nature’s answer to butter. And I’m the guy at the party who sits down on the couch and makes sweet love to a bowl of chips and guacamole until everyone in the room is staring. But I just don’t think avocado and burgers mix. Something about the cool smoothness of the avocado manages to distract my mouth from the burger and the remaining toppings, and then my mouth gets confused and angry and resolves to keep saying stupid things, like that maybe a flat tax wouldn’t be such a bad idea, or that those jeans aren’t doing my girlfriend’s hips any favors.

So I avoid avocado when I’m ordering burgers. I also avoid iceberg lettuce, but for entirely different reasons I’ll get into another time.

Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about avocado when I go to Five Guys Burgers & Fries, one of the most recent east coast transplants. A smallish, DC-based burger chain best described as In-n-Out East, Five Guys was voted “best burger in Baltimore,” which is a great endorsement, if only because it allows me to imagine that I’m eating burgers and fries with Omar Little or Bunk and McNulty.

Five guys (fairly) recently opened up a restaurant in Carson, so I decided to give it a try after spending my Sunday morning with a crowd of kindergartners and their parents for reasons I’ll get into another time. The verdict? While In-n-Out probably won’t be losing market share anytime soon, Five Guys is goooooooood.

The Burgers. I’ll admit it: While I like my steaks as pink as Angelyne’s wardrobe, I like my burgers well-done. I’ll have a medium rare burger if I trust the chef, but when dining out it’s well-done or it’s nothing. The problem here, of course, is that most fast-food burgers are well-done to the point that you’re eating what amounts to a colonial-era leather bridle. Five Guys burgers are well-done but still magically soft, falling apart in your mouth. A standard burger has two patties, which has apparently caused Men’s Health magazine much consternation, as this results in a sandwich that’s about 800 calories per serving and roughly one hundred percent of your recommended daily allowance of everything that’s bad for you. To which I say: Go soak your head, Men’s Health magazine. And if you’re wondering what to soak it in, maybe you should wring out some of those cologne samples that litter every third page of your magazine.

Toppings-wise, there’s a great selection, and the burger techs at Five Guys aren’t shy. It’s the first time in my life I haven’t sat there wondering whether I should ask for more pickles.

The Fries. The fries come in standard and cajun varieties, and if there’s ever a worldwide potato shortage, we’ll know where to look. I ordered a regular-sized serving, which not only filled an entire paper cup (see my photo), but overflowed to about two-and-a-half inches deep in the bag my meal was served in. I couldn’t come close to finishing them, so packed them away for my girlfriend, Alanna, who said they were just as delicious cold. I enjoy shoestring fries; she, steak fries. Five Guys fries are somewhere in between: Thick yet crispy, with just enough surface area to hold the right amount of spice rub.

The Drinks. Drinks are pretty standard. Nothing remarkable here. I had iced tea.

The Hot Dogs. I didn’t try a hot dog. My tummy only has so much room, and I hadn’t had time to evacuate myself that morning so my digestive tract was packed to capacity as it was. But you should know that (a) Five Guys serves hot dogs, and (b) they will wrap them in bacon if you so desire.

The Nuts. I suppose if anyone were to complain about Five Guys, they’d complain about the wait; it took a good 7 to 9 minutes for my food to be ready. To me, quality is worth waiting for, but I know there’s no shortage of people out there who want their food NOW NOW NOW GIVE IT TO ME WHY ARE YOU BEING SO SLOW OH MY GOD I’M GONNA TAKE MY BUSINESS ELSEWHERE. I’m looking at you, Yelp reviewers.

To placate the impatient, Five Guys offers free peanuts. Peanuts are the ultimate distraction; like a psychological experiment, they present a brief puzzle (cracking the shell) with a reward at the end (the nut itself). I hadn’t brought a book or a magazine with me, so I had some peanuts. They tasted about as good as peanuts can taste, but I appreciated the effort to keep me entertained.

The Service. Service was excellent: Friendly, respectful and attentive. Serving fast food isn’t rocket science, but I imagine these guys deal with more than their fair share of unpleasant customers, so their welcoming and cheerful attitudes earn a double check mark.

So yeah: Next time you’re in Carson — I dunno, maybe you’re going to Ikea or visiting an elderly aunt in her condo — make a stop at Five Guys. It’s worth the trip, I promise.

So I made it to Fry’s yesterday, and was quite pleasantly surprised.  The look of the store can be described as Trader Joe’s meets The Dresden Room.  It’s a throwback that includes fake Tiki torch chandeliers, fake black rock walls, and an outdoor pond/fake rock garden.  With toned-down lighting and signs, and an army of sales people (almost all male) dressed not in colorful short-sleeve polo shirts but old-school white dress shirts with ties, Fry’s seems the antithesis of its competitor Best Buy, as well as other popular big-box chain stores such as Target.  According to Wikipedia, the Manhattan Beach Fry’s has a “Tahiti” theme, joining other Fry’s theme stores in our area, such as Alice in Wonderland (Woodland Hills) and the Industrial Revolution (City of Industry).

The array of big-screen tv’s, GPS units, computer supplies, Xbox and Wii games, and more left me happily glazed over.  Down one aisle, the latest and slimmest Motorola and VTech cordless phones.  Along another aisle, the most electric shavers and hair trimmers that I have ever seen.  Around a corner, Elvis bobbleheads above a box of … umbrellas?

But Wikipedia also references a possible dark side of Fry’s, including some dubious consumer practices (such as taking payments to let customers cut the line on Black Friday), a high-profile lawsuit from famous celebs over use of their image, and even an illegal kickback scheme involving Fry’s vendors and gambling debts.

So what’s the deal, folks?  Is Fry’s a beloved, quirky California-based institution that some of you have enjoyed for a couple of decades, or just another evil corporate chain in retro trim?  All I know is, I left the place with a new old model and a wry smile, and that never happens at Best Buy.

City officials hope to pass a ban on such dangerous equipment as yoga mats and exercise balls, but in the meantime point out existing city code that they believe already prohibits personal trainers from bringing clients to parks:

12.48.070 Commercial activities.
Commercial activities, including, but not limited to vendors, caterers, and peddlers, including vendors, caterers and commercial enterprises associated with permitted, organized groups, shall be prohibited in all City parks unless a permit is obtained from the Director of Parks and Recreation. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Director of Parks and Recreation from awarding a franchise for special events to a particular caterer or vendor.

I’m not a lawyer, so correct me if I’m wrong, but if they’re going to use this to charge personal trainers with a misdemeanor, wouldn’t this also apply to nannies or babysitters?